When women call you handsome what dose that really mean?

I have been called cute and then sexy but what I always get is handsome, I was told that handsome is above sexy and cute but handsome seems so plain and it really doesn't have the same impact on me as the other words do, so I guess what I really want to know is from a woman's point of view what dose cute, sexy , and handsome mean and which one is better?
When women call you handsome what dose that really mean?
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